Pile forming method



June 15, 1965 .-w. KOCH FILE FORMING METHOD Filed Sept. 17, 1962 IWENTOR.

k WILL/AM L. x00

United States Patent Ofifice 3,188,816 Patented J one 15, 1 965 3,188,816 PILE FORMING METHOD William L. Koch, San Francisco, Calif. H. Koch & Sons, Corte Madera, Calif.) Filed Sept. 17, 1962, Ser. No. 224,130 2 Claims. (Cl. 61-46) This invention relates to a pile construction and method of constructing the same.

The problem to which this invention is primarily directed is the replacement of old piles under the decks of wharfs and other structures over a body of water. In such situations pile drivers could not be utilized unless the deck is broken open which involves great expenditures of labor and loss of time.

It is an object of this invention to solve the problem of replacing old piles or furnishing a new pile under existing structures by erecting a tubular pile structure from the bottom of the body of water to the underside of the supported structure and then filling the tubular pile structure with a filler capable of solidifying such as concrete; the primary advantage of this invention is that the erection of this piling can be performed below the water level.

Another object of this invention is to provide a method of erecting piling by operations under the water level and out of material which is resistant to marine growth generally, yet is sturdy and solid.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tubular pile construction which can be installed in location out of tube sections coupled together at location and filled with concrete or the like after erection, said tube sections being made of glass fiber reinforced plastic.

I am aware that some changes may be made in the general arrangements and combinations of the several devices and parts, as well as in the details of the constr-uction thereof without departing from the scope of the present invention as set forth in the following specification, and as defined in the following claims; hence I do not limit my invention to the exact arrangements and combinations of the said device and parts as described in the said specification, nor do I confine myself to the exact details of the construction of the said parts as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will be made manifest in the following detailed description, reference is had to the accompanying drawings for the illustrative embodiment of the invention, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a fragmental, partly sectional View of the lowermost tube section in position under water, the old pile being shown in broken lines, and the direction of jetting being indicated by an arrow.

FIG. 2 is a view showing the coupling sleeve on the lowermost tube section in out of the way position.

FIG. 3 is a fragmental view showing the lowermost section and the next section above it coupled together.

FIG. 4 is a fragmental view showing the completed tubular pile and the introduction of concrete filler therein.

'FIG. 5 is a fragmental view showing the anchoring of the lowermost section on an old truncated pile, and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the pile on line 66 of FIG. 4.

The pile of this invention is erected out of tubular pile sections 1 made out of glass fiber reinforced plastic tubes placed end to end. The adjacent or meeting ends 2 are held together by a tubular coupling sleeve 3 also made of a glass fiber reinforced tube and integrated with the tube sections by suitable cementing material.

The lowermost section 1 or whichever section rises above the mud line 4 in the body of water has on it an intake 5 near the mud line through which concrete filler can be forced into the tubular structure.

The top end 7 of the top section 1 has a notch 8 formed therein to serve as an outlet for water expelled from the tubular structure by the introduction of the concrete filler 9.

The method of erecting such a pile structure under the existing deck 10 of a wharf or the like, is started by first anchoring the lowermost pile section 1 into the bottom of the body of water. The anchoring of this lowermost section 1 in FIG. 1 is performed by so called jetting, for instance along an old worn pile 11 which is to be replaced. This jetting step involves the directing of a jet or stream of water through the inside of the tube section 1 into the mud and as the mud is thus excavated, the tube sinks into the mud bottom below the mud line 4. If it is desired to sink deeper than the length of one tube section 1, then the next tube section 1 can be coupled to the lowest section 1 and the jetting continued until the desired depth is reached.

Another way to perform this step of anchoring is to out off the old pile "1 1 at the mud =line 4 and mount the lowermost pile section 1 on the truncated old pile 11 as shown in FIG. 5.

The coupling of the next tube section 1 on the lower section is performed as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The coupling sleeve 3 is positioned over the lower tube section 1 below the meeting end 2 thereof. Then the next upper tube section 1 is placed end to end on the lower section. A layer of suitable cementing material, such as an epoxy-type cement is applied to the tube surfaces around and about the abutting areas and then the coupling sleeve 3 is drawn over the joint to be firmly integrated in place by said cement.

All these operations can be per-formed under the water line 12, and the coupling step is repeated as many times as needed both below the water line 12 and above it until the deck 10 is reached.

Then an inlet 13 is cut into the tube section 1 at about the mud line 4 and the intake 5 is connected to the inlet 13 and the usual concrete feed line (not shown) ,is connected to the intake 5 and suitable concrete is fed under pressure. This concrete flows down first into the portion of the tube section 1 below the mud line 4 and then rises and fills the rest of the pile structure expelling the water ahead of it through the outlet notch 8 at the underside of the deck 10. Thus concrete is forced against the underside of the deck 10 and forms solid support.

The resultant structure is resistant to marine growth and is firm and efficient. The method permits replacement of old piles or reinforcement of existing piles efiicient-ly and with easy underwater operations Without disturbing the deck structure or the old piles in any way.

I claim:

1. A method of constructing a pile in a body of Water under a deck of a Wharf or the like, including the steps of (a) anchoring a tube in the bottom of the body of water below the deck,

(b) erecting said tube up the underside of said deck,

(c) providing a by-pass outlet at the end of the tube at said deck,

(d) providing a filler intake into said tube under water,

(e) forcing a filler capable of solidification through said filler intake until said tube is filled,

(f) the iproviding of sections of glass fiber reinforced plastic,

(g) said anchoring step consisting of the anchoring of the lowermost tube under water,

(h) placing a coupling sleeve slidably over said tube section,

(i) positioning another section above the lowest section,

(j) applying cementing medium on the surfaces of said tube sections around their meeting ends and about the area to be covered by said coupling sleeve,

' (k) moving said sleeve tube sections to be cemented on the tubesection's about the meeting ends of the tubes,

(l) and erecting further tube section end to end and uniting thern'by fcoupling sleeves until the tube is erected to the deck of the Wharf.

2. The invention defined in claim 1 and'saidstep of "anchoring, including (n11) the cutting dovvn of an old pile at about the mud (ni zhe forcing of the lower portion of the tube over saidtruncated pile; V

References :C ited h y the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 518,354 4/94 Polhanius 61-54 over the rneeting ends of said 4 7 Ambler 6154 Koe'titz 61-54 Hindes 61-54 Cortes 6 1- 54 X Lane 61-54 Wilson et a1. Munger- 28 5-22 Bailey.

Brushel et a l. 6l-5'4 FOREIGN PATENTS EARL 'J WITMER, Primar Examiner. JACOB SHAPIRO, Examiner. 

1. A METHOD FOR CONSTRUCTING A PILE IN A BODY OF WATER UNDER A DECK OF A WHARF OR THE LIKE, INCLUDING THE STEPS OF (A) ANCHORING A TUBE IN THE BOTTOM OF THE BODY OF WATER BELOW THE DECK, (B) ERECTING SAID TUBE UP THE UNDERSIDE OF SAID DECK, (C) PROVIDING A BY-PASS OUTLET AT THE END OF THE TUBE AT SAID DECK, (D) PROVIDING A FILLER INTAKE INTO SAID TUBE UNDER WATER, (E) FORCING A FILLER CAPABLE OF SOLIDIFICATION THROUGH SAID FILLER INTAKE UNITL SAID TUBE IS FILLED, (F) THE PROVIDING OF SECTIONS OF GLASS FIBER REINFORCED PLASTIC, (G) SAID ANCHORING STEP CONSISTING OF THE ANCHORING OF THE LOWERMOST TUBE UNDER WATER, (H) PLACING A COUPLING SLEEVE SLIDABLY OVER SAID TUBE SECTION, (I) POSITIONING ANOTHER SECTION ABOVE THE LOWEST SECTION, (J) APPLYING CEMENTING MEDIUM ON THE SURFACES OF SAID 